Balanced hangar door



Jan. 14, 1969 H. w. DICKINSON 3,421,260

I BALANCED HANGAR DOOR Filed Sept. 27, 19s? Sheet of s FIG. .2

ficzg 59 '42 M35 x a .33 4 4 1 /9 j I 34, /0 w 4 32 i /5 f H34! 29 24 iINVENTOR. v lia, i J /4 HAROLD WD/cm/vso/v 36 BY 30 fi 4 2 H 22 a f FIG.3 ATTORNEYS Jan. 14, 1969 H. w. DICKINSON 3,421,260

BALANCED HANGAR DOOR Filed Sept. 27, 1967 I NVEN TOR.

F IG. 5 HAROD WD/CK/NSON %Wf% q AT TOPNE Y5 Jan. 14, 1969 H. w.DICKINSON 3, 60

BALANCED HANGAR DOOR Filed Sept- 27, 1967 Sheet .9 of 3 .2.- m rm mm 44FIG 6 INVENTOR.

HAROLD WD/cK/Nso/v AT TORNEYJ United States Patent 3,421,260 BALANCEDHANGAR DOOR Harold W. Dickinson, Rafters, Inc., Olivia, Minn. 56277Filed Sept. 27, 1967, Ser. No. 671,027 US. Cl. 49-197 Int. Cl. E01d15/56; Ed 15/38; E05d 15/40 7 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSUREBackground of the invention Overhead doors for airplane hangars andsimilar buildings, and having convex outer surfaces, have been producedwith various mechanisms for raising and lowering the same between openand closed position respectively. Some of these are produced in sectionswhich are assembled at the hangar, these sections being transversesections requiring relatively heavy bracing to provide a rigid door.Further, these transverse sections, unless made in narrow dimensionslongitudinally of the hangar door, are apt to be quite bulky,particularly when it is considered that hangar doors are often as muchor more than 20 feet in height, having longitudinal dimensions up to 60feet or more. Hence, these doors are quite heavy and the sectionsthereof are cumbersome and difficult to transport due to their extremebulk. Further, such doors have heretofore required relatively heavy andexpensive mounting means and mechanism for raising and lowering thesame.

Summary 07 the invention The primary object of this invention is theprovision of an overhead hangar door structure which can be produced inrigid sections of size and shape convenient for transport to the pointof assembly, and which can be easily assembled to provide a relativelylightweight self-supporting door.

Another object of this invention is the provision of door structurehaving equalizing means for preventing twisting or distortion of thedoor and supporting mechanism during raising and lowering of the door.

To the above ends, the door of this invention comprises a plurality ofelongated rigid sections each extending the entire length of the doorand connected together to provide a door of cylindro-segmental crosssection, a :pair of radial arms one at each end of said door, asupporting frame adjacent each of said radial arms and journalling thearms on a common horizontal axis extending longitudinally of the door,and an equalizing cable operatively connected to each of the arms andentrained over pulley means in vertically spaced relation to the arms,the cable defining flight portions which cross each other between theradial arms in such manner that, when one end of the door is swung ineither direction of opening or closing movement, the cable impartssimultaneous movement to the opposite end of the door in the samedirection. The doors are counterbalanced by weights on the radial armsfor easy and rapid opening and closing movement.

Brief description of the drawings FIG. 1 is a view in front elevation ofan airplane Patented Jan. 14, 1969 hangar or similar building showingthe hangar door of this invention in a closed position, some parts beingbroken away and some parts being shown in section;

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary view, partly in plan and partly in section,taken on the line 2.2 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary view partly in side elevation and partly insection, taken on the line 33 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged fragmentary section, taken on the line 4-4 of FIG.3, with the hangar door shown in an open position;

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary view in top plan of the hangar door in its openposition, some parts being broken away and some parts being shown insection;

FIG. 6 is an enlarged fragmentary view in side elevation, correspondingto a portion of FIG. 3, some parts being broken away and some partsbeing shown in sectlon;

FIG. 7 is an exploded perspective in transverse section of the hangardoor of this invention; and

FIG. 8 is an enlarged exploded transverse section of a modified form ofhangar door.

Detailed description An aircraft hangar or similar building 1 is shownfragmentarily in FIGS. 1-3 as comprising a roof 2, opposed side Walls 3,and a front wall 4 that defines a door opening 5, and a floor 6.Normally, the hangar 1 includes a rear wall, not shown, the floor 6being provided with an approach apron or the like 7 forwardly of thedoor opening 5, for facilitating movement of aircraft or other vehiclesinto and out of the hangar 1. Normally, the door opening 5 is of aheight and width to admit aircraft of predetermined dimensions forservicing or storage. In the embodiment shown, the door opening 5extends for the greater part of the hangar or building 1. The hangar 1may be of any suitable construction, such as wood or metal, or acombination of both, the floor 6 and apron 7 preferably being ofconcrete or similar material.

The embodiment of hangar door structure illustrated in FIGS. 1-7 of thedrawings and indicated generally at 8, is horizontally elongated, havinga cross sectional shape generally of a cylindrical segment and includinga convex outer wall 9, an opposite inner wall 10 which may be flat, ifdesired, but which as shown, is slightly convex, the inner wall 10having a substantially greater radius of curvature than that of theouter wall 9. The hangar door 8 further includes opposite end walls 11,see FIG. 5, that are adapted to be closely disposed adjacent theopposite ends of the door opening 5. As shown, the door 8 comprises apair of rigid door sections 12 and 13, each of the sections 12 and 13including a convex outer wall element 14, an inner wall element 15 andspaced end wall elements 16, the wall elements 14 cooperating to providethe outer Wall 9, the inner wall elements 15 cooperating to provide theinner wall 10, and the end wall elements 16 cooperating to provide theend Walls 11 of the door 8. Further, each of the sections 12 and 13includes a respective radially disposed side walls 17 and 18 havingrespective longitudinally spaced alignable apertures 19 and 20threret'hrough for reception of nut-equipped bolts or the like 21,whereby the sections 12 and 13 may be rigidly bolted together to formthe door 8. As shown particularly in FIGS. 5 and 7, the inner wallelements 15 are provided with longitudinally spaced openings 22 adjacenttheir respective openings 19 and 20 whereby access is had to theinterior of the door sections 12 and 13 for bolting the sectionstogether. Further, each of the door sections 12 and 13 is provided withone or more rigid brace members 23 that are disposed generally parallelto the side- Walls 17 and 18, and extend for the entire length of thedoor 8, whereby to rigidly brace each of the door sections 12 and 13.The sidewalls 17 and 18, as well as the brace members 23, may be madefrom wood or lightweight metal, such as aluminum, the outer and innerwall elements 14 and respectively being made from sheet metal orplywood, as desired. The end wall elements 11 may be fabricated from anysuitable material. As shown in FIG. 7, the edges of the wall elements 14and 15 of the door section 13, adjacent the sidewall 18 are laterallyoffset, as indicated at 24, to be nestingly received within the adjacentedge portions of the wall elements 14 and 15 of the cooperating doorsection 12, whereby to present a smooth joint or seam 25.

The door 8 is mounted for swinging movements on a generally horizontalaxis extending longitudinally of the door, between a vertically disposeddoor closed position shown by full lines in FIGS. l3, wherein the door 8substantially fills the opening 5 in the front wall 4, and a generallyhorizontally disposed door open position .at a level above the top ofthe door Opening 5 and within the building 1, as shown by dotted linesin FIG. 3. At its opposite ends, the door 8 is provided .with pairs ofradial arms 26 that are bolted or otherwise rigidly secured to the topand bottom edge portions of the door and which, at their radially innerends are welded to flanges 27 having anchored thereto axially alignedstub shafts 28. Each of the stub shafts 28 is journalled in a differentone of a pair of aligned tubular bearings 29, each bearing 29 beingrigidly secured to the upper end or apex portion of one of a pair ofinverted V-shaped supporting frames 30 that are bolted or otherwiserigidly secured to the hangar floor 6 in close proximity to a differentone of the side walls 3. At their radially inner end portions, each pairof arms 26 is reinforced by a generally rectangular arm extension 31 onwhich is mounted eounterbalancing weights 32 and 33 diametricallyopposite the door 8, whereby the counterbalancing effect imposed by theweights 32 and 33 varies with the position of the door 8 between itsclosed and open positions. Each of the arm extensions 31 is providedwith a stop lug 34 that engages the adjacent supporting frame 30 tolimit swinging movement of the door 8 inwardly beyond its open positionas shown by dotted lines in FIG. 3. Preferably, and as shown in FIG. 3,the axis of curvature of the convex outer door wall 9 is substantiallycoincident with the aligned axes of the stub shafts 28, or at leastdisposed in closely spaced parallel relationship thereto. Weatherstripsor sealing members 35 and 36 are disposed between the upper and loweredges of the door 8 and their adjacent front hangar wall portion 4 andfloor 6 respectively. Although not shown, it may be assumed that otherWeatherstripping may be applied between the opposite ends of the doorand adjacent portions of the front wall 4.

A pair of flanged guide wheels or pulleys 37 are rigidly secured oneeach to the radial arms 26 and arm extensions 31 adjacent a differentend of the door 8 and each coaxial with an adjacent one of thestubshafts 28. As shown particularly in FIG. 6, each pulley 37 isprovided with radial spokes 38 that are welded or otherwise secured tothe adjacent arm-extension 31. An elongated flexible cable 39 isentrained over each of the pulleys 37 and over pairs of front and rearguide pulleys 40 and 41 respectively, the ends of the cable 39 beingoperatively adjustably secured together by a conventional turnbuckle 42,see particularly FIG. 3. Each of the pulleys 37 is provided with 'aradial opening 43, one thereof being shown in FIG. 6, for passagetherethrough of a bight portion 44 of the cable 39, which bight portion44 is looped over a cross member 45 of the adjacent arm extension 31,and -a pair of conventional cable clamps 46 are applied one each to eachof the bight portions 44 between their respective pulleys 37 and crossmembers 45, one of which is shown in FIG. 6. The cable clamps 46securely anchor the cable 39 for common movement with the pulleys 37.

The several guide pulleys 40 and 41 are in the nature of conventionalswivel pulleys and are anchored to the roof 2 of the hangar 1 by eyebolts 47 for free swinging and turning movements of the guide pulleys 40and 41. As

shown, the pulleys 40 and 41 are disposed above the level of the hangardoor 8 in its raised open position and slightly forwardly of the axis ofswinging movement of the door 8 to provide ample clearance between thedoor 8 and overlying portions of the cable 39. For ease in understandingthe arrangement of the equalizing cable 39', the same may be describedas comprising a pair of flights 48 and 49, the flights terminating atthe bights 44 adjacent the opposite guide wheels or pulleys 37. Asshown, the flight 48 extends from the front portion of the guide wheelor pulley 37 at the left end of the hangar door 8, relative to FIGS. 1,2 and 5, upwardly to the adjacent front guide pulley 40, from thence therear guide pulley 41 adjacent the opposite or right hand end of the door8, and from thence to the rear portion of the guide wheel 37 adjacentthe right hand end of the door 8, relative to FIGS. 1, 2 and 5. Thecable flight 49 extends from the rear portion of the guide wheel 37 atthe left hand end of the door 8, relative to FIGS. 1, 2 and 5, to theadjacent rear guide pulley 41, from thence to the front guide pulley 40adjacent the right hand end of the door 8 and from thence to the rearportion of the guide wheel 37 adjacent the right hand end of the door 8,relative to FIGS. 1, 2 and 5. Thus, and with reference to FIG. 2, itwill be seen that the cable flights 48 and 49 cross one another betweenthe pairs of guide pulleys 40 and 41. With this arrangement, shouldopening or closing movement be imparted to the door 8 at one end or theother thereof, the cable 39 will simultaneously impart similar movementto the opposite end of the door 8 in the same direction, thus,automatic-ally eliminating any torsional strain which might otherwise beapplied to the door 8, radial arms 26 or connections between the arms 26and door 8. Thus, it is not necessary to impart opening or closingmovements to the door 8 at its central portion longitudinally betweenthe opposite ends thereof. The door 8 may be opened or closed merely byimparting swinging movement to the radial arms 26 or extensions 31 ateither end of the door, whichever is most convenient.

In the modified construction illustrated in FIG. 8, a hangar door 50 isshown as comprising upper, intermediate and lower door sections 51, 52and 53 respectively. The upper and lower door sections 51 and 53respectively are substantially identical, having outer walls 54, innerwalls 55 and side walls 56. These sections also include longitudinalbase members 57 which, like the sidewalls 56 extend for the entirelength of their respect1ve door sections 51 and 53. The intermediatedoor section 52 includes an outer wall 58, an inner wall 59 and parallelside walls 60 that are adapted to be disposed in closely spaced parallelor juxtaposed relationship to the side walls 56 of the adjacent upperand lower door sections 51 and 53. The intermediate section 52 furtherincludes a base member 61 centrally between the sidewalls 60 and whichextends for the full length of the door section 52 or door 50. Like thesidewalls 17 and 18, the sidewalls 56 and 60 are provided withlongitudinal flanges having alignable openings 62 for reception ofnut-equipped bolts or the like 63 for securing the door sections 51, 52and 53 together, the inner walls 55 and 59 having hand holes 64 therein,whereby access is had to the interiors of the door sections 5153 forbolting the sections together.

As shown, the assembled door 50 of FIG. 8, closely resembles theassembled door 8 in cross sectional shape, and is made from a greaterplurality of longitudinally extending sections than the door 8 only as amatter of ease and convenience in handling and transport. When a hangardoor of 12 to 15 feet in height and of the desired length, for instance,60 feet, is desired, the same may be easily produced in two sections offrom 6 to 7 /2 feet in height and 60 feet long. It has been found thatsections of such height and length may be very easily transported byrail or truck to its destination for assembly. When a hangar door ofgiven length, such as 60 feet, and a height of 20 feet or more, isdesired, I have found it more advantageous to make the same in threesections, as shown in FIG. 8, each of the sections being approximately 68" in height. Each of the sections is rigid in itself, and, when thesections are bolted together, the completed door is extremely rigid andcapable of withstanding considerable stresses, as from wind, or thelike, without distortion.

While I have shown and described a commercial embodiment of my hangardoor structure and one modified arrangement, it will be understood thatthe same is capable of further modification, without departure from thespirit and scope of the invention as defined in the claims.

What is claimed is:

1. Hangar door structure comprising,

(a) an elongated door having a cross sectional shape generally of acylindrical segment and including a convex outer wall, an inner wall andopposed segmental end walls;

(b) a pair of radial mounting arms at opposite ends of said door;

(c) a pair of supporting frames each disposed adjacent a different oneof said radial arms;

((1) means journalling said arms on said supporting frames on alignedhorizontal axes substantially parallel with the axis of said convexouter door wall for swinging movements of said door between a generallyvertically disposed closed position and a generally horizontallydisposed open position upwardly and inwardly spaced from said closedposition;

(e) door counterbalancing means on said arms;

(f) equalizing means operatively connected to said arms for impartingdoor opening and closing movements to one of said arms responsive tolike movements of the other arm;

(g) said door comprising a plurality of rigid door sections eachextending for the entire length of the door, each of said sectionsincluding:

(1) a convex outer wall element,

(2) an inner Wall element,

(3) spaced end wall elements,

(4) a generally radially disposed sidewall,

(5) and means for rigidly securing said sections together with thesidewall of each section in juxtaposed relationship to the adjacentsidewall of an adjacent section, whereby said outer, inner, and end wallelements cooperate to form said outer, inner, and end walls respectivelyof said door.

2. The hangar door structure defined in claim 1 in which said inner wallelements are convex in opposition to said outer wall elements, saidinner wall elements having a radius of curvature substantially greaterthan the radius of curvature of said outer wall elements.

3. The hangar door structure defined in claim 1, characterized bylongitudinally spaced openings in said generally radial walls, fasteningwherein the securing means comprises elements extending through saidopenings for securing said sections together, and longitudinally spacedopenings in said inner wall elements, whereby access is had to thefastening receiving openings in said generally radial walls.

4. The hangar door structure defined in claim 1, characterized byelongated brace members in said door sections and extendingsubstantially the entire length of said sections, said brace membersbeing disposed in spaced generally parallel relationship to adjacentones of said sidewall elements and having opposite side edges secured toadjacent ones of said inner and outer wall elements.

5. The hangar door structure defined in claim 1, in which saidequalizing means comprises:

(a) an elongated flexible member,

(-b) a pair of guide wheels each coaxially mounted on a different one ofsaid radial arms for common rotation therewith,

(c) guide means disposed in generally vertically spaced relation to eachof said radial arms and to the areas defined by the door in its open andclosed position,

(d) means for operatively connecting the opposite ends of said flexiblemember together,

(e) and means securing spaced points of said flexible member to saidguide wheels, said flexible member being entrained over said guidewheels and said guide means and definining a pair of flight portionswhich cross each other between said guide wheels, whereby to impartrotary movement to one end of said door responsive to rotary movement ofthe other end of the door and in the same direction as that of saidother end of the door.

6. The hangar door structure defined in claim 5, in which said flexiblemember comprises a flexible cable, said guide means comprising two pairsof pulleys each pair disposed above a different one of said radial arms,said flight portions crossing each other between said pairs of pulleys.

7. The hangar door structure defined in claim 5, in which said means foroperatively connecting the opposite ends of said flexible membertogether comprises a turnbuckle operative to adjust tension of theflexible member.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,378,123 5/1921 Lovejoy 492001,749,425 3/1930 Harris 49197 2,148,735 2/1939 Einung 49-197 2,610,3669/1952 McKee et a1. 49-203 X 2,718,036 9/1955 Strobel et al 4920O2,790,210 4/1957 Falconer 49-203 X 2,872,183 2/1959 Harty 49140 XFOREIGN PATENTS 677,070 6/1939 Germany.

DAVID J. WILLIAMOWSKY, Primary Examiner. DENNIS L. TAYLOR, AssistantExaminer.

U.S. Cl. X.R.

